1. Field of Endeavor
The present invention relates to carbon nanotubes and more particularly to a carbon nanotube array based sensor system.
2. State of Technology
U.S. Pat. No. 6,376,971 for electroactive polymer electrodes issued Apr. 23, 2002 to Ronald E. Pelrine, Roy D. Kornbluh, Qibing Pei, and Jose P. Joseph and assigned to SRI International provides the following state of technology information, “In many applications, it is desirable to convert from electrical energy to mechanical energy. Exemplary applications requiring translation from electrical to mechanical energy include robotics, pumps, speakers, general automation, disk drives and prosthetic devices. These applications include one or more actuators that convert electrical energy into mechanical work—on a macroscopic or microscopic level. Common electric actuator technologies, such as electromagnetic motors and solenoids, are not suitable for many of these applications, e.g., when the required device size is small (e.g., micro or mesoscale machines). These technologies are also not ideal when a large number of devices must be integrated into a single structure or under various performance conditions such as when high power density output is required at relatively low frequencies.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,006 for microelectronic and microelectromechanical devices comprising carbon nanotube components issued Sep. 3, 2002 to George R. Brandes and Xueping Xu and assigned to Advanced Technology Materials, Inc. provides the following state of technology information, “A microelectronic or microelectromechanical device, including a substrate and a carbon microfiber formed thereon, which may be employed as an electrical connector for the device or as a selectively translational component of a microelectromechanical (MEMS) device.”
U.S. patent application No. 2002/0117659 by Charles M. Lieber, Hongkun Park, Qingqiao Wei, Yi Cui, and Wenjie Liang, assigned to William Marsh Rice University, for nanosensors, published Aug. 29, 2002, provides the following state of technology information, “Nanowires are ideally suited for efficient transport of charge carriers and excitons, and thus are expected to be critical building blocks for nanoscale electronics and optoelectronics. Studies of electrical transport in carbon nanotubes have led to the creation of field effect transistors, single electron transistors, and rectifying junctions.”